Elevated walking means



June 14, 1966 D. JONES ELEVATED WALKING MEANS Filed May 10, 1963 IN V ENTOR.

B Y H/S ATTORNEY? HARE/.5, K/ECH, RUSSELL 3: KEEN United States Patent3,255,464 ELEVATED WALKING MEANS Dick Jones, Box 779A, Rte. 3, Chino,Calif. Filed May 10, 1963, Ser. No. 279,485 1 Claim. (Cl. 3-4) Thisinvention relates to walking means and more particularly to an elevatedwalking means such as stilts, wherein a user is elevated from the groundand yet is able to walk forwardly or rearwardly in substantially anormal manner.

Prior stilts and walking means have failed to provide a user withadequate stability, nor have they provided a simple means for compactlyfolding and collapsing the walking means when same is being shipped orstored.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel walkingmeans which is so constructed that the user thereof can be elevated fromthe ground and walk therewith in substantially a normal manner and yetbe provided with maximum stability. More particularly, it is an objectto provide a walking means whereby the user thereof can walk byactuating his feet in a normal heel and toe inclination.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elevated walking meansincluding a pair of stilts which are capable of being folded into acompact and efiicient configuration for storage or sale purposes, whichconfiguration results in a width and thickness substantially equal tothat of a single stilt when folded.

A further object of this invention is to provide an elevated walkingmeans having an upper shoe supporting means pivotally connected to apost and a lower supporting means in spaced, substantially parallelogramrelation with the upper shoe means and similarly pivotally connected tothe post.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an elevatedwalking means having a hand holding means at the upper end of a post, anupper shoe supporting means pivotally connected thereto and spacedinwardly from the vertical axis thereof, and a lower supporting meanspivotally connected to the post at a point below the upper shoe means,in parallelogram relation with the upper shoe means, and in a line withthe vertical axis of the post.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elevated walking meanswhich laterally spreads the ground engaging members thereof so as toprevent their interlocking while walking.

It is another object of this invention -to provide an elevated walkingmeans which, while laterally spreading the ground engaging members,maintains the shoe supporting members in normal lateral position so asto comfortably accommodate the feet of a user.

A further object of this invention is to provide an elevated walkingmeans which has an inwardly directed moment of force, thus urging theupper hand holding means inwardly against the sides of a user.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an elevated walkingmeans including a longitudinal support post, an upper shoe supportingmeans pivotally connected to said support post and extendingsubstantially transverse thereto, a lower support means pivotallyconnected to the support post at one end thereof, spaced downwardly fromthe upper shoe supporting means and positioned substantially parallel tothe upper shoe supporting means, and a longitudinal connecting meanspivotally connected at each end thereof to the upper and lower supportmeans.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcombinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear inthe course of the following description. The drawing and the descriptiondisclose a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is givenby way of illustration or example.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

' FIG. 2 is a side elevational view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top cross-sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;and

FIG. 4 is a fractional side elevational view taken alon line 44 of FIG.1.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 exhibits an elevated walking means orstilts 11) preferably made of wood or the like. In normal use theinstant device would comprise a pair of stilts 12, one for each leg ofthe user. Each one of the pair includes a main'vertical post 14, havinga hand holding means 16 at the upper end thereof, and an upper shoemeans or shoe support 18 pivotally mounted on the inner side of the post14 by a bolt 20, extending substantially transverse to such post, andpositioned intermediate the upper and lower ends of the vertical post14. The horizontal upper shoe support 18 is thus spaced laterallyinwardly of the vertical axis of the post 14. The bolt 20 passes throughthe vertical midpoint of the shoe support 18 and through the verticalpost 14. Washers 21 are positioned on the bolt 20 on each side of thepost 14. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawing, the uppershoe support provides a securing strap 22 to hold the foot of a userthereto. Additionally, the upper shoe support 18 conforms to the generalshape of a users shoe.

Positioned at the lower end of the vertical post 14 opposite the handholding means 16 and below the upper shoe support 18 is a lower shoemeans 24.' This is the ground engaging member. The lower shoe means 24is a member pivotally connected to the post 14 by a bolt 26, the pivotpoint being spaced upwardly from the horizontal surface of the lowershoe means 24 and upwardly from the lower terminus of the post 14. Thelower shoe means 24 is pivotally secured to the pivot bolt 26 by aU-shaped linkage member or bracket 28. The open portion of the U-shapedmember 28 is adapted to fit over the lower end of the post 14 and thebottom 29 of the member 28 is rigidly secured to the top surface of thelower shoe means 24 by any suitable screw means or bolt means. TheU-shaped member 28 is sufficiently deep so as to permit such member torotate through at least an angle of 180 in the fore-and-aft direction ofthe vertical post. In this connection, the lower end or terminus of thepost 14 is curved as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing so as to facilitaterotation of the linkage member 28.

The lower shoe means 24 is positioned below the lower end of the post 14with the vertical axis of the post 14 intersecting the lower shoe means24 near the fore-andaft axis of the latter. Thus, the upper shoe support18, being mounted at a position to one side of the post 14, is offsetlaterally inwardly from the vertical axis of the post 14 relative to thelower shoe means 24. In addition, the lower shoe means 24 conforms tothe general shape of a users shoe and the toe end 30 is upturnedslightly'to aid in normal walking. Secured to the underside of the lowershoe means 24 and conforming to the upturned toe end 30 is a frictionalsole member 31.

Spaced forwardly of the main vertical support post 14 and laterallyinwardly of the vertical axis thereof is a rigid connecting member 32.The connecting member 32 is substantially parallel to the post 14 and ispivotally connected at the ends thereof to the upper shoe support 18 andthe lower shoe means 24. At its upper end the connecting member 32 ispivotally secured by a pin 34 traversing the legs of a downwardlyextending U-shaped linkage member 36, which member is attached to theunderside of the upper shoe support 18 by pins 37 near the outer edge ofthe upper shoe support. Similarly, the lower end of the connectingmember 32 is pivotally secured 'by a pin 38 to the upwardly extendingarms of a U-shaped linkage member 40, which member is attached to thetopside of the lower shoe means 24 by screws or bolts 41 near the inneredge of the lower shoe means. In this connection, the pivot point at thepin 34 is preferably spaced downwardly from the pivot point at the bolt20 and the pivot point at the pin 38 is similarly spaced downwardly fromthe pivot point at the bolt 26.

As a result of the above interconnected relationship, the upper shoesupport 18, the vertical main post 14, the lower shoe means 24, and theconnecting member 32 all define a flexible parallelogram configuration.Thus, as a user actuates his foot in a walking movement with his footresting on the upper shoe support 18, the lower shoe support 24 movescommensurately therewith, which enables the user to simulate his normalwalking action while being elevated from the ground.

In an at-rest position, with the lower shoe means 24 engaging the groundin a horizontal plane, the upper shoe support 18 is preferably inclinedslightly upwardly from the horizontal as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing,the toe end of the upper shoe support 18 being lifted slightly upwardly.This feature, while maintaining the substantially horizontal directionof the upper shoe support 18 and the general parallelogram arrangementof parts, prevents a users foot from wedging forwardly under thesecuring strap 22 in such a tight fitting engagement that quickreleasability in the event of a users fall would be difficult.

As indicated above, in actual operation the instant device is utilizedin pairs, for use as an elevated walking means. A user thereof mountsthe device by grasping the main post 14 at the hand holding means 16 andplacing a foot on the upper shoe support 18 and beneath the strap 22. Inwalking when mounted on the device, the user actuates his foot in anormal walking manner. Through the use of the flexible parallelogramsystem here employed, the lower pivoted shoe means 24 will conform tothe same movements as the upper shoe support 18. Thus, while stabilizingoneself by grasping the hand holding means 16 of the post 14, a user canmove forwardly by urging his feet in a forward direction and in thenormal heel and toe inclination.

The lateral inward displacement of the upper shoe support 18 from thevertical axis of the post 14 and from the center of the lower shoe means24 provides definite advantages to the user. When employing the stilts12 the inwardly positioned shoe supports 18 enable the user to walk withhis feet in a substantially normal laterally spaced relationship whileat the same time the ground engaging lower shoe means -24 are spacedlaterally outwardly therefrom and are therefore prevented frominadvertently engaging one another, which engagement would cause theuser to lose his stability and fall. In addition, the inwarddisplacement of the shoe supports 18 creates an inwardly directed momentof force about the bottom end of each post 14 tending to move theholding means 16 against the sides of the user. Thus, while it can beexpected (as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 1 of the drawing) that aslight outward inclination of the posts 14 will occur during actual use,since the hips of a user are frequently wider than the users normallateral foot spacing, as long as such inclination is less than thatrequired to vertically align the horizontal lateral mid-point of theupper shoe support 18 with the point of engagement between the post 14and the lower shoe means 24, the downwardly directed weight of a user onthe upper shoe support 18 will result in an inwardly directed moment offorce which will urge the hand holding means 16 at the top of the posts14 against the sides of a user. This feature prevents the stilts 12 fromspreading outwardly at the upper ends thereof and, further, prevents theuser from being required to laterally spread the base of such stilts inorder to gain an inwardly directed moment of force.

Further, the stilts 12 may be folded into an efficient compact packagewhen not in actual use or during the shipment thereof. The foldedcompact configuration is achieved by rotating the upper shoe support 18and the lower shoe means 24 about'their respective pivot points in anupwardly direction (see the broken lines in FIG. '2 of the drawing). Inthis situation, the lower shoe means 24, being pivotally secured to thepost 14 through the U-shaped linkage member 28, is enabled to swingforwardly of such pivot point, about the lower end of the post 14, andinto a position substantially parallel to the vertical post 14.Meanwhile, the upper shoe support 18 is rotated into a steeply inclinedposition which defines less of an angle with respect to its normalsubstantially horizontal position than that achieved by the lower shoemeans 24. This variance in angle of inclination occurs in spite of theflexible parallelogram configuration since the shoe means 24 swingsforwardly of its upwardly spaced pivot point while the upper shoesupport 18 merely rotates about its pivot point. In addition, the angleof inclination variance is also affected by the rigid connecting member32 which interconnects the elements 18 and 24 as described and thuscontrols their relative motions. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2 of thedrawing, when the elements 18 and 24 are rotated upwardly toward afolded position they lie at different angles of inclination.Accordingly, when each stilt 12 is folded in the manner above described,one of the pair may be inverted and situated with the upper surface ofits upper shoe support 18 engaging the upper surface of the shoe support18 of the other stilt 12. Thus a longitudinal compact package is createdhaving a width and a thickness substantially equal to the width andthickness of a single folded stilt 12.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosedherein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that variousminor changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated insuch embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the claim which follows:

In an elevated walking means, the combination of:

an integral, straight support post providing a hand holding meansadjacent the upper end thereof, said post having a longitudinal axis;

an upper shoe;

a pin pivotally connecting said upper shoe to the inner side of saidpost for pivotal movement about an axis which is generally perpendicularto said longitudinal axis, said pin pasing through said upper shoe atabout the vertical midpoint thereof and supporting said upper shoe incantilever fashion, said upper shoe being spaced laterally inwardly fromthe longitudinal axis of said post;

a lower shoe;

a generally U-shaped bracket pivotally secured to the lower end of saidpost for pivotal movement about an axis which is generally perpendicularto said longitudinal axis;

means for securing said lower shoe to said bracket for pivotal movementtherewith, said lower shoe being intersected by said longitudinal axisof said post and being offset outwardly from said upper shoe;

a downwardly opening U-shaped linkage member rigidly secured to saidupper shoe at a point spaced inwardly and forwardly of the longitudinalaxis of said post;

an upwardly opening U-shaped linkage member rigidly secured to saidlower shoe at a point spaced inwardly and forwardly of said longitudinalaxis of said post;

a connecting member having upper and lower ends,

5 6 said upper end of said connecting member being References Cited bythe Examiner pivotally connected to said downwardlyopening link- UNITEDSTATES AT age member and said lower end of said connecting member beingpivotally connected to said upwardly 241,226 5/1881 Landls openinglinkage member, said connecting member 5 279,071 6/1883 Allen beingparallel to said post when said upper and lower 1,613,535 1/1927 Q shoesare horizontal, said upper and lower shoes 2,216,214 10/1940 Schllhngbeing pivotable about said pin and with said bracket, 2,351,145 6/1944Pearson respectively, from the horizontal to a collapsed posi- FOREIGNPATENTS tion in which said shoes are generally vertical and 10 saidconnecting member lies substantially along the 189071 11/1922 GreatBntam' forward edge Said RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

.a strap secured to said upper shoe for releasably securing the foot ofa user to said upper shoe. FRINKS, Assistant Examine!-

